


Dance Me To The End Of Love

by MomentsOfWeakness



Series: The Blaine Hummel 'Verse [4]
Category: Glee
Genre: Allusions to Sexual Assault, M/M, allusions to physical assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-19
Updated: 2013-01-19
Packaged: 2017-11-26 02:49:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/645722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MomentsOfWeakness/pseuds/MomentsOfWeakness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Junior Prom as it occurred in the Blaine Hummel 'Verse. Things go a little differently for Blaine after he loses all of his courage. (This is an interlude for Your Steady Hands.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance Me To The End Of Love

**Author's Note:**

> This is an interlude for Your Steady Hands. It takes place between 'Anger - Part Three' and 'Acceptance'.

“So, Kurt, what groundbreaking and trendsetting ensemble are you going to be wearing to Prom?”

Kurt winced at Tina's question, busying himself with the tangled measuring tape on the table in front of him for a moment so he wouldn't have to answer. _It's just Junior prom_ , he told himself again. In the long run it doesn't mean anything.

“I'm...not going,” he said finally, turning around to take in the confused expressions on all the girls' faces.

“Kurt, why not?”

“But it's _Prom_.”

“I thought you were singing with us?” 

“Is this because of the hobbit?”

The room went quiet after that, all the girls waiting for his response a little warily, as if worried about how he would react. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or not that they all knew how protective he was of Blaine. 

But Kurt didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to say to explain why he wasn't going to the only Junior Prom he would ever have.

He had asked Blaine, if they could go together as friends, and Blaine had said no. That he wouldn't, couldn't, go with him. That he couldn't go at all. So yes, it _was_ because of Blaine that he wasn't going, because Kurt wouldn't go without him, wouldn't leave him all alone in the house while he and Finn and everyone else was at the dance enjoying themselves. But it was so much more than that too.

When Kurt had asked Blaine, late at night in their room as they got ready for bed, his eyes had gotten so wide, an all too familiar fear filling them up like a poison. ' _I...I can't_ ', he had whispered, shoulders hunching, arms crossing, pulling into himself.

Kurt had moved to sit next to him on the bed, one hand reaching out to find Blaine's, linking their fingers tightly together. “You know they won't be there, Blaine. They were expelled. And no one else would dare...”

Blaine had just shaken his head, his whole body shivering under Kurt's hands. It had taken a while but he had finally coaxed the reasoning out of him, heat breaking all over again for Blaine as he listened to the story of a dance and a long night spent in pain and fear waiting at the hospital for Gregory. His parents hadn't come for him then either.

“No,” Kurt finally said, grabbing his satchel from the floor and swinging it over his shoulder. “It's not because of Blaine, it's because the world is full of assholes that would rather cut down and destroy than see someone else be happier than them. I'm glad you guys get to go and have fun, I really am. But until the world learns to be a little less cruel and a little more accepting, Blaine and I won't be there.”

He left the room in a huff, feeling slightly guilty for taking away their fun. It had been a good day up until Santana had opened her big mouth. But if he had to admit it, he was disappointed. Their high-school days were limited, and these experiences would only come once.

He _wanted_ to be going. He wanted to dance beneath the cheesy decorations and eat the bad food and sing in front of the rest of their classmates with his friends. He wanted a normal experience, just once. But he couldn’t leave Blaine at home all alone, even though he had all but begged Kurt to go without him.

Blaine felt awful that his own insecurities were keeping Kurt from the dance, but Kurt didn't see it that way at all. It wasn't Blaine's fault that he had lost his courage, it was Grant's, and the jocks, and all the other people that had torn Blaine down over his lifetime. And Kurt had meant it when he told Blaine he would be perfectly happy going to a movie instead; the thought of going to the prom without Blaine was just pointless. It wouldn't feel right.

So Kurt would help the girls get ready, and make sure Finn's tie was straight, and take pictures to put up on everyone else's Facebook. Then he and Blaine would go to dinner and a movie and just be together, the two of them, like always.

*****

The night may not have been what he was expecting, or what he had wanted, hoped for, but it had been nice. They had gone to dinner at a restaurant on the other side of town, not wanting to go to Breadstix because they knew half the school would be there that night, and then they had gone to the movies, gorging themselves on horribly expensive candy and overly-salted popcorn as they watched things explode in burning fireballs on the screen. (They had opted against the romantic comedies, for obvious reasons.)

And now they were parked at a deserted playground a few miles from their home, just him and Blaine, sitting under the stars on a warm spring night. There was nothing to worry about here, no bullies, no dark pasts, no fears to try and break them down.

For a long while they just sat silently on the hood of the car, watching the stars and basking in each other's presence. Their hands were entwined, like always, as if they couldn't be within reach of each other without their fingers gravitating together.

But eventually the silence was broken, mournful words cutting through the peaceful illusion they had surrounded themselves with.

“I'm sorry,” Blaine whispered up at the dark sky, mouth twisting up painfully. There were tears in his eyes, not spilling over but glistening in the moonlight. He felt guilty, Kurt knew, felt like he was letting Kurt down _again_.

Kurt just shook his head, pulled Blaine a little closer until his nose brushed against Blaine's cheek. “Don't be sorry.”

“But it's your prom...”

Kurt hated that. The way Blaine talked that made it seem like he was still an outsider, a hanger on. They were Kurt's friends and Kurt's school and Kurt's family. But now wasn't the time to argue that point.

“It's just junior prom, Blaine. By next year you'll be ready and we will go, and we will look fantastic, and maybe, just maybe, we can get them to vote us for prom court.”

Blaine laughed, his shoulder bumping into Kurt's, and rolled his eyes. “You want to be prom king?”

Kurt shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hold back the smirk that was twisting the corners of his mouth. “Only if you're my queen.”

This earned him a full belly laugh, surprised and joyous and real. Those were the moments that Kurt lived for, when he could make Blaine happy like that. When, for a few brief seconds, all the sadness and anger and pain that radiated from Blaine on a daily basis just washed away with true, honest happiness.

“Do I have to wear the tiara?” Blaine asked.

Kurt shook his head, turning to face Blaine, unable to stop his smile from growing wider. “We'll get you a tasteful gold crown,” he said. “It won't be as sparkly as mine of course.”

“Of course.”

Blaine turned too so that they were facing each other, moving closer until they were nearly touching. It was hardly comfortable; the window they were leaning against was cold and the edge of the hood was digging into Kurt's hip, but he hardly noticed with Blaine there smiling at him so warmly.

“Thank you for tonight,” Blaine whispered, closing the space between them, resting their foreheads together. “Thank you for not leaving me behind.”

“Never,” Kurt promised.

He could feel Blaine's breath waver across his mouth, spicy with a hint of butter from the popcorn. He wanted so desperately to just lean forward that last tiny inch, to feel Blaine's lips on his like he's longed for guiltily since the day they had met. But he couldn't. He couldn't make that decision for Blaine, couldn’t be the one to take that huge, life-changing step.

Kurt took a deep breath and pulled away from Blaine just a little, just until the warmth of him was no longer so distracting. Blaine's eyes fluttered closed and he shook his head.

“I...I don't...”

“It's okay,” Kurt said quickly, moving even farther away from Blaine, putting more space between them. “Blaine, it's okay. I understand. I shouldn't have-”

Kurt's apology was cut off when Blaine slid a hand over his mouth. The look in his eyes was hard to read, sad and lost, but still a little hopeful.

“I just...not yet, okay? I'm not...I'm not ready yet.”

Kurt nodded against Blaine's hand, a smile forming beneath his fingers. He brushed the back of his fingers over Blaine's cheekbone, sighed softly when Blaine leaned into his touch. 'Not yet' wasn't never and that was more than he ever thought he'd have. He could wait. He would wait for Blaine forever.

*****

It was still fairly early when they finally went home, not too much past ten. Finn wasn't due back until one am, an extended curfew for the special occasion, and Kurt and Blaine had plans to curl up in bed and marathon Anne Hathaway movies until they passed out. But when Kurt pushed open the front door, instead of the empty house he was expecting, he found his brother standing in the middle of the living room, a small, crooked smile on his face, his hands beating out a rhythm on his crutches, as if he couldn't contain himself.

“Finn, what are you doing home already? I thought everyone was going to Artie's after you were all done singing.”

Kurt pulled his jacket off as Blaine slipped in the door behind him. Finn's smile broadened, one foot twisting childishly in the carpet. “That-uh...that was a lie. Can you two come with me?”

Kurt exchanged a confused look with Blaine, eyebrow raising another notch as his brother headed for the basement door and their room. With Blaine following closely behind they descended the stairs, Kurt's breath catching in his throat as they rounded the landing and saw what Finn had been so eager to show them.

Their room had been transformed. Most of the furniture had been removed, only the couch left, tucked into a corner under a tangle of sparkling white lights. More lights were hanging in streams around the room, with balloons and streamers lining all four walls.

A table had been laid out with refreshments and another held a sound system complete with turntables and microphone, a rhythmic beat sounding quietly in the background. A big blue banner with the words 'Junior Prom 2011' hung high up on the far wall.

And at the center of it all stood a closely packed group of people, all dressed up in their prom best, wide smiles on all of their faces as they waited for Kurt and Blaine's reaction.

“I...I don't...” Kurt felt his throat tighten up, blinked back the sudden stinging in his eyes. He felt Blaine's hand slip into his own, warm skin trembling against his palm. “Why?” he finally asked around the lump in his throat.

Rachel stepped forward, placing herself at the head of the group, hands clasped in front of her and a wide grin on her face. “Well,” she started, all pomp and circumstance and it made Kurt smile back. “We know that you two have been having a really hard time these past few weeks, and that, because of circumstances that will not be mentioned, Blaine wasn’t comfortable with going to the dance tonight. But...it's our prom. And it just wasn't the same without you two there so...”

Santana stepped forward, pushing Rachel out of the way with slightly less force than usual. “So, Mercedes and Quinn made the food, Lauren and Artie got the sound system, the jocks all moved your weird-ass furniture out of the way, and Puck stole all the decorations on the way out the door. Welcome to Junior prom. Now can you go change so that we can get this shit started? I stopped having fun when Miss Priss over there started setting up the karaoke machine.”

Rachel huffed, Finn hid a laugh with a badly placed cough, and Tina grabbed them both by the hands and pulled them gently toward the closet. “Your dad helped us pick out some tuxes for you guys. They're in there.”

Clamping down the horror at the idea that his father had anything to do with choosing his outfit (he had seen the photos of the blue monstrosity circa 1987) Kurt laughed happily, hugging Tina before dragging Blaine into the closet and shutting the door behind them.

Blaine switched on the overhead light, the smile on his face widening when he saw the two black garment bags hanging off the back wall. “I can't...believe they did this. I...your friends never cease to amaze me.”

Kurt took Blaine's hand, squeezing gently until Blaine turned to look at him. “They're your friends too, Blaine. They didn't just do this for me.”

Kurt smiled at the faint blush that crept up along Blaine's throat. “I...yeah. I-I know.”

Not wanting the moment to get any more awkward or emotional (tonight would be about joy and revelry, not fixing things or dwelling on the past) Kurt pushed Blaine toward the back wall, taking down one of the garment bags for himself.

Inside was a classic black tuxedo with a thin lapel collar and a pristine white shirt. On the hanger there was a black satin skinny tie and a pair of black cufflinks, and at the bottom of the bag there was a pair of shiny black dress shoes. A quick peak at the shoes size and Kurt handed the bag over to Blaine, taking the identical (but slightly larger) one away from him.

As Blaine started dressing, back turned demurely to Kurt, Kurt hung his own tux back on the wall and eyed his closet thoughtfully. “Not fashionable enough for you?” Blaine asked as he turned back around, buttoning up his shirt carefully. He was smiling at Kurt fondly, his eyes shining in the soft yellow glow of the overhead light. It was enough to make Kurt's heart stutter. He loved this boy so much it made him ache sometimes.

“A classic black tuxedo is always fashionable,” Kurt stated. “However, I can do better.” Blaine laughed and Kurt began rummaging through the racks, pulling things out and setting them in neat piles or hanging them carefully back in place. At one point he pulled a white silk scarf out of a carefully labeled box and draped it around Blaine's neck.

Blaine smiled, fingering the soft materiel and watching Kurt work. After enough time had passed that they were getting inquisitive knocks on the door from the girls Kurt declared his choices good enough and hastily pulled everything on, Blaine once again turning his back. When he was finished he held out his arms, displaying himself for Blaine's perusal.

“I...” Blaine's hesitation made Kurt falter for a moment. He knew the kilt was a bit much, but he thought pairing it with the jeans and his Doc's would keep it from crossing the line from fashionably gender-bending to 'skirt'. He knew he looked fabulous, he always did, but he kind of really wanted Blaine's approval too.

“I think you look amazing,” Blaine said softly, a smile pulling at his mouth as he looked over the kilt and jacket, fingers working in his own clothes, a nervous twist of fabric. 

Kurt felt himself blush, but he did a little twirl anyway, the kilt swirling around him in a satisfying manner. “Just a little something I've been keeping for a special occasion. I wanted to embellish a bit more, some buttons or tassels on the sleeves or something, but...it'll do.”

“Kurt and Blaine, get your asses out here so the hobbit can sing her damn song. I wants to get my groove on up in here, and I can't do that with your hag singing sappy shit about not giving up or whatever the hell. Move it!”

Kurt rolled his eyes, started to shout back a snappy retort when he saw the smile on Blaine's face and thought better. He grabbed Blaine's hand and pulled him toward the door, throwing it open and walking out with as much flair as possible when coming out of a closet into one’s own bedroom. (The irony was not lost on him.)

The girls immediately started cooing at them, they both got hearty slaps on the back from all the guys (and a too-tight, exuberantly happy hug from Finn), and Artie cranked the music up, getting everyone dancing beneath the shining lights.

*****

“You know, I think I liked this better.”

Kurt's confession into the dark room was whisper soft, careful not to wake any of the girls that were sprawled throughout the room, some on the pullout couch, some in the other bed that had been returned to its place when Burt and Carole had come home at one and put an end to the festivities. The boys were all upstairs in Finn's room or the living room, everyone wearing borrowed sleep clothes, dresses and tuxedos packed neatly into Kurt's closet for the night.

“I mean, I suppose there's something to be said for the usual highschool dance experience. And I would have liked to see Finn and Quinn get crowned, but this was better. Just the people we care about. No need to exchange pleasantries with all the people that treat us like scum on any usual day or bumping into sweaty jocks and their skankily clad dates on the dance floor.”

Blaine nodded sleepily, his nose brushing against Kurt's shoulder. “Definitely better than my last dance. And 'skankily' isn't a word.”

Kurt smiled against Blaine's curls, one hand petting up and down his back beneath the blankets. It had been a good night. 

They had danced, foreheads pressed together and arms wrapped around each other, holding the other close. Their breath had been mingling between them, warn puffs of air across lips not quite touching. Kurt had no idea what was going on, what had changed that night between them, but he he knew it was something. Something important, something that, if they were very careful, could be so so good.

Kurt nestled closer to Blaine, lifted one hand to brush his fingers across his cheekbone, over his closed eyes. Blaine nuzzled into the contact, a soft sigh escaping his lips as his body relaxed and he drifted off to sleep. Kurt stayed awake for a long time, watching Blaine sleep and listening to the sounds of the girls' soft snores.


End file.
